


Werewolves in London

by AirgiodSLV



Series: 28 Lotrips AUs Challenge [13]
Category: The Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-04-21
Updated: 2006-04-21
Packaged: 2019-07-20 12:16:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16137053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AirgiodSLV/pseuds/AirgiodSLV
Summary: The CDC office – theotherCDC, the Control of Dark Creatures office – in London was nothing like the one in L.A.





	Werewolves in London

**Author's Note:**

> AU #3, for [](https://mews1945.livejournal.com/profile)[mews1945](https://mews1945.livejournal.com/). This is not the start of something long and involved. No, it's not. Really.

The CDC office – the _other_ CDC, the Control of Dark Creatures office – in London was nothing like the one in L.A. Elijah frowned at the placard next to the door and knocked, letting himself into the cramped, cluttered room that housed the main office. There was no one inside, but papers were strewn across the chipped desk and a ceiling fan whirred through the stale warm air, testament to inhabitants somewhere nearby.

Elijah was about to search the back room when an older man came out, holding a battered file folder. “Yes?” he asked, the strong accent jolting Elijah a little as it had since he’d arrived, always expecting people to speak one way and then hearing another. “Can I help you?”

“Sean Bean?” Elijah inquired cautiously, thinking he recognized the voice from over the phone. When the man nodded, Elijah set down his carryall and held out a hand. “I’m Elijah Wood, transferring from L.A.”

Sean waited for a long moment before accepting the handshake, and then gestured to a cheap metal chair sitting in front of the desk. “Have a seat, Mr. Wood,” he offered, although there wasn’t a great deal of warmth in the invitation. Elijah smoothed his jacket and sat down; he’d made an effort for this interview, suit jacket and slacks, although a long-sleeved shirt and tie would have been too much to ask for on the long plane rides and train-bus-taxi commutes he’d had to manage in order to get here.

Sean dropped the folder onto his desk and sat as well, steepling his fingers. “Have you settled in yet?” he asked. “There are a couple of good boarding houses I can recommend, if you need one.”

“I’m taken care of, thanks.” Elijah fidgeted a little in his chair, uncomfortable in the dusty heat of the office. “I haven’t been there yet, but I wanted to check in with you first, receive my assignments for the week, protocol and so on.” He had no real idea how things worked here; Sean’s messages had always been vague and brief, leaving quite a lot of Elijah’s questions unanswered.

Sean paused, and then spoke carefully, evasively. “You have to understand,” he said. “Things work a little differently here than you’re used to. You come with a strong recommendation from L.A., which is why we approved your request to transfer, but Americans have…a reputation, let us say, for going in with the attitude of shooting first and asking questions later.”

“L.A. has the best record of Dark Creature neutralization on the continent,” Elijah replied, puzzled. “And the lowest number of civilian casualties. I assure you…”

“You see,” Sean interrupted with every trace of politeness, “Neutralization is something we generally try to avoid. Our goal is more for…peaceful coexistence. Control and protection of the civilian populace, of course, but ‘neutralization’, as your branch refers to it, is not our first line of defense.”

Elijah paused. “I don’t think I understand,” he said finally. “Are you saying you…try to live in harmony?”

“Yes, that’s it precisely,” Sean said, sounding relieved. Elijah opened his mouth in bewilderment, but Sean continued, ignoring him. “Now if you should witness a situation where a civilian is under attack by one of the Others, you are of course licensed to deal with them as you see fit, which includes…neutralization. However,” he said, lifting a finger to forestall Elijah’s questions. “We generally consider that a last resort, to be employed only under dire circumstances when there is no other choice.”

 _Old World,_ Elijah’s supervisor Viggo had said when Elijah first stated that he wanted to go to England. _They do things differently there. You may have trouble fitting in with them the way you do here._

“You’re shitting me,” Elijah said finally, and only half-regretted his bluntness when Sean’s eyebrow arched in response. “You’re telling me that things like werewolves, vampires, witches, and poltergeists are out there killing people and you try to avoid doing them any harm?”

“Mr. Wood,” Sean said calmly. “Do you have any idea of the ratio of civilians to Others we have here? It’s approximately 100 to 1 in America, is it not?”

Elijah shrugged awkwardly. “Something like that,” he admitted. “More in the cities, L.A. is about 98 civilian to 1 Dark.”

“Others,” Sean corrected. “Here we call them Others, it’s considered rude to refer to them as ‘Dark’ or ‘Creatures.’ And the ratio in London, Mr. Wood, is approximately 20 to 1.”

Elijah blinked, slightly stunned, but Sean continued before he could say anything. “So you see, if we were to take the approach your office does in America, things could easily escalate into a war situation. And with the advantages the Others have on their side, I’d rather not see that kind of slaughter happen on my watch. We coexist peacefully, and we intervene when necessary, and they understand that. They would be likely to object, however, if you are too…zealous, in pursuit of your duty.”

“I see,” Elijah said faintly when Sean finished, trying to wrap his mind around the idea of…how many people were there in London? How many Dark Creatures living in the city, casting spells and drinking blood, shredding civilians on every full moon?

“You brought your own weapons with you, I understand?” Sean asked, and Elijah blinked.

“Yeah,” he answered. “Splinter gun for vampires and a dozen silver bullets for werewolves.” It had been a bitch to get them through customs, especially the splinter gun, but they were in his case now, safely transported. He’d felt naked in the airports without them, jumpy every time a stranger appeared to be watching him.

“We’ll get them registered for you as soon as possible,” Sean assured him. “I can arrange for someone to take you to your new lodgings, if you wish…ah. Orlando,” he said to someone over Elijah’s head, and Elijah scraped his chair across the floor as he whipped around, startled.

There was no question in Elijah’s mind what Orlando was; he’d been working this job too long not to know a vampire when he saw one. Orlando regarded him steadily, through dark eyes set in pale skin, auburn curls framing his face and falling to his shoulders.

“Fuck,” Elijah whispered, and jumped at the touch of Sean’s hand on his shoulder, keeping him from ripping open his carryall and praying he could cock and fire before Orlando’s teeth ripped open his jugular.

“Watch the docks tonight,” Orlando said, his eyes moving slowly from Elijah to address Sean. “If you have someone to spare. You know the place.”

“I’ll be there,” Sean answered gravely, keeping his hand on Elijah, which was probably wise considering the way Elijah’s heart was pounding and his instincts were screaming to defend himself. “Thank you, Orlando.”

Orlando paused, completely still in a way which was just wrong, inanimate, marking him as a Dark Creature. No…an Other, here. “This is a new one?” he asked, eyes on Elijah again, looking through him as if he were a portal into something else.

“Yes, this is Elijah Wood. He’s just come from L.A., let your group know to watch for him, if you can.” Sean’s voice was even, respectful, and Elijah wondered in mild terror how many were in Orlando’s ‘group’, and why Sean seemed to know them so well. He also wondered if this was going to be a regular thing, Dark Creatures popping into the office for chats with the people licensed to hunt and kill them.

 _Peaceful coexistence_ , he heard Sean’s voice repeat in his mind, and couldn’t fathom how that was even remotely possible. It was black and white to him, two forces directly opposing, and vampires didn’t band together under any circumstances that he’d ever heard of, so things really must be different here. And one vampire warning them about the activities of others? It made his head spin.

“Make sure he knows we are not his enemy,” Orlando said, in a slow, cultured voice. “Or he will become ours.”

“He knows,” Sean promised, and Elijah managed a jerky nod that Orlando didn’t appear to see, because he had already turned and disappeared through the door. Elijah was shaking so hard he was surprised he didn’t fall off his chair. Sean pulled a little bottle of something out of his desk drawer and offered it without comment. Elijah downed the contents in one gulp and felt the liquor burn his throat, dulling his anxiety a bit and steadying his nerves.

“Fuck,” Elijah said fervently, and Sean took his hand off Elijah’s shoulder, giving him space to recover from the encounter.

“Do you want me to call someone?” Sean asked, and Elijah dimly remembered the earlier conversation; a guide, someone to make sure he got to the boarding house safely…he would have said no, before Orlando’s unexpected visit. Now the idea of traveling home across unfamiliar terrain in the dark was making his skin creep and the hairs stand up on his arms.

“Yes,” he said meekly. “Please.”

“Bathroom’s down the hall to the right,” Sean commented neutrally. “If you want to clean up a bit from your travels. You’ve come a long way.”

Elijah seized the opportunity gratefully and left the office with his heart still pounding. He found the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face with gasping breaths, his hands still shaking and eyes darting around, half-afraid that Orlando’s reflection would appear in the mirror behind him, even though such a thing was impossible. Orlando wouldn’t have a reflection, he would just be there, Elijah wouldn’t see him coming, and that knowledge meant that it took a long time for Elijah to get his shaking hands under control enough that he felt prepared to go back to the CDC office.

When he walked in, there was someone else there. His heart tripped fast again, but it was a young man of his own age, clearly alive, shooting a cheerful grin at him as soon as Elijah walked in.

“Elijah, this is Dominic,” Sean introduced them. “Dominic has lived in London all his life, he works with our office, and he’s graciously agreed to help you settle in tonight. You’d better get going, it’s hard to find a bus this late at night.”

“Thank you,” Elijah said, but Dom waved him off, still grinning in a funny, crooked way that made Elijah feel like smiling in return, if he weren’t still so shaken from meeting Orlando.

“Don’t mention it, it’s good to have you here. From L.A., yeah? Sean told me you were coming. Is this all you have? I can carry it, no worries, you look like you’ve had a shock. Sean said Orlando was here, that must have been quite an awakening, I hear the lot you have out there in America are all feral savages.” Dom paused, possibly for breath, and Elijah opened his mouth but wasn’t quite fast enough. “Sean, you’re going to the docks tonight? Call me if you need me, although I doubt it’ll be more than the usual lot of crazies, out for a bit of sport. Bad apples in every barrel, you know how it is.”

Dom continued chattering the entire way to the station – “We’ll take the Tube, it’s faster, and we can get you a map at the station; trust me, you’re going to want one, it’s how everyone gets everywhere here” – and on the ride to Elijah’s stop – “Mulberry Boarding House? Sure, I know where that is, we won’t be walking more than a couple of blocks, and it’s not too cold out, surprising for this time of year, really” – and on the walk home – “The smell takes a bit of time to get used to, I know, but you must be accustomed to it yourself, coming from L.A…do you see a lot of movie stars? I’d like to vacation there one day, see if I can collect any autographs” – until they finally arrived at Elijah’s door.

Dom handled the keys and matronly landlady while Elijah signed paperwork, jetlag finally catching up to him and making the words blur on the pages. Dom coaxed him through the last bit, carrying his luggage up the four flights of stairs over Elijah’s protests, and finally Elijah was in a room with four walls and a fold-out bed that he dragged down from the wall while Dom poked around curiously.

“Not much,” he sniffed. “Price isn’t bad, but you could do better. I’ll ask around, see what’s available in my neighborhood, you’d like it there. It’s closer to the office, too, you saw how fast I came.”

Elijah nodded, wondering how to politely throw Dom out of his room so that he could get some sleep. Dom seemed to understand from his expression, though, and winked at him from where he was checking the kitchenette. “I’ll just let you get some rest, shall I? Look, here’s my number…”

He scribbled something down on a piece of scrap paper and pushed it warmly into Elijah’s hand. “Call anytime, it must be daunting to start in a new city with no friends. We could go out sometime, grab a bite to eat and see the clubs. You’ll like it here, I know you will, everyone does.” And with that, Dom waved cheerily from the door and pulled it shut behind him.

Elijah stood for a moment, just reveling in the silence, and then locked and latched the door and fell into bed, barely having the presence of mind to shuck his shoes, jacket, polo shirt and slacks before he was crawling beneath the starched sheets.

He liked Dom, even if the guy was a bit of a chatterbox at first; and he thought he could get along with Sean, who seemed both capable and dependable, a good enough sort even if he was reserved about a lot of things. Orlando he would have to watch out for, but now that he knew… He yawned, and gave up thinking in favour of sleep.

He dreamt, unsurprisingly perhaps, of Viggo during his first days at the L.A. office, learning the basics. “Vampires have no reflections, you can’t see them behind you,” he said in the dream, and Elijah nodded and made notes, filling pages and pages with snippets of information.

“You can’t tell werewolves on sight unless it’s close to the full moon, they look just like anyone else,” Viggo said, and Elijah copied dutifully. “Some of them wear silver bullets around their necks, though, the ones who have been shot at and still survived. It’s like a badge of honour.”

Elijah wrote and wrote until he ran out of paper, and Viggo kept talking. “Stay away from the Pagans, they’re harmless. The witches are the ones you need to watch out for, and they’re hard to identify unless you catch them in the act or find their lairs, but they’ll know you, so keep your eyes open. European branches…” Elijah shut the notebook and Viggo’s voice faded, until he was gone.

Elijah opened up the notebook again, reading over his notes, all written together in one long line. _Werewolves – silver bullets,_ he read, and read it again, and again. _Werewolves – silver bullets. Werewolves –_

He woke up and his cell phone display still said 4:30 AM, his body confused by the change in time zones and the still, silent dark of the boarding house, completely unlike his place back in L.A. Elijah rolled over, preparing to go back to sleep, and a thought snagged his mind, a mental picture of Dom standing in the kitchenette, leaning forward to write down his number, a charm on a silver chain spilling out of his shirt to bump against his chest…

A chain…a charm…no, not a charm. Elijah came fully awake and sat upright, eyes wide and startled. Not a charm. A bullet.

“Fuck,” he whispered out loud, into the darkness. Somewhere outside a car horn honked, and then silence reigned again. The scrap of paper with Dom’s phone number on it lay next to his phone and keys on the nightstand, looking innocent. Elijah’s head throbbed.

“Fuck,” he said again, and lay back down again, too wide-awake to sleep.

He was beginning to question if he ever should have come to London, and he honestly didn’t have an answer.


End file.
